New Books in St. Seraphim’s Bookstore

(the other downtown bookstore)

This is a perfect opportunity to find something to inspire you during Advent or shop early for Christmas.

NEW Testament EOB Portable. A zippered leather edition with the text approved by the Ecumenical Patriarch back in 1904.

The EOB New Testament Portable is a unique and beautifully typeset edition of New Testament and intended for maximum portability. It is bound in burgundy manufactured leather and includes a zippered closure. This zippered casing protects the page edges and allows you to carry this New Testament in your backpack, purse, laptop bag, etc.

The EOB New Testament … is based on the official ecclesiastical text published in 1904 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (again documenting all significant variants to the Critical Text, Majority Text and Textus Receptus). It also provides extensive footnotes. The Patriarchal text was selected on Mount Athos from among a large number of reliable ecclesiastical manuscripts and appears to be identical or similar to Minuscule 1495 (KR subgroup). The main purpose of the EOB is to provide an accurate and easy-to-read English text of the Holy Scriptures that is suitable for use by Orthodox Christian communities and individuals, while providing an outstanding text for scholars.

Age of Paradise (Pentecost to 1000 AD) –a church history

“Before there was a West, there was Christendom. This book tells the story of how both came to be.” (from the Introduction) At the heart of his story is the early Church’s “culture of paradise,” an experience of the world in which the kingdom of heaven was tangible and familiar. Drawing not only on worship and theology but statecraft and the arts, the author reveals the remarkably affirmative character Western culture once had under the influence of Christianity – in particular, of Eastern Christendom, which served the West not only as a cradle but as a tutor and guardian as well.

Akathist to St. Mary of Egypt

St. Mary of Egypt’s early life may have resulted from sexual mistreatment in her childhood. Who better to intercede for us than the one who spent years repenting of her own sexual sins? This Akathist is a way to confide shameful secrets with one who will beg the Lord to enfold us in His loving embrace and help us heal.

Akathist to Theotokos, Softener of hard hearts

          Probably every family (or extended family) needs this Akathist. For the story of why the author wrote this compelling Akathist, go to https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/behind-the-scenes/2019/04/05/writing-an-akathist-to-the-most-holy-theotokos-healer-of-hardened-hearts/

Apostle to the Plains: Fr. Nikola Yanney

In 1892, a young man left his home in the coastal foothills of Lebanon in search of a better life. Coming to America with his newlywed wife, he found work as a traveling peddler before settling on a small farm in central Nebraska. Years later, personal tragedy and an unexpected midnight visit from a saint changed the course of his life. Seeing the desperate need of his fellow Orthodox Christians and heeding God’s call, he would spend the rest of his life traversing the Great Plains as a circuit-riding priest, known to his thousands of parishioners as Father Nicola Yanney. His legacy stands alongside that of St. Raphael Hawaweeny, his mentor, as a seminal force in the American Orthodox Church of our day.    

Vested in Christ: Understanding the Mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation (Young adult) (includes full color poster)

          Vested in Christ answers the following questions and more:

• Why was Christ Baptized?
• Why does the Church read prayers on the first and eighth day after the birth of a child?
• What is the role of the Godparent?
• What are the essential elements for the celebration of the Mystery of Holy Baptism?
• What are the prayers of exorcism and what is the renunciation of Satan?
• What is the significance of the triple immersion for the person being baptized?
• What are washing and tonsure?
• Why are infants baptized?
• Why are baptismal clothes white?
• What was the baptism of St. John the Forerunner?
• Why does the Priest seal the newly baptized person with Holy Myrrh?

Restoring the Inner Heart: The Nous in Dostoyevsky’s Ridiculous Man

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man tells of a transformation of the heart and a journey from despair to joy: a joy that can be known by all through the experience of God that transcends a simply rational discourse.

Conversations with my Heart by Metr, Athanasy

Metropolitan Anastasy was a leading figure of the Russian emigration following the Communist takeover of his homeland. A man of erudition, he formed a bridge between two worlds — the Imperial Court of the last Tsar and the transient 20th century Russian diaspora. These reflections from his diary offer the groanings of his heart and musings on the eternal mercy of God which he writes “are part of my very essence.” They draw upon wisdom from sources as diverse as writers of classical antiquity, authors, composers and inventors of the age of enlightenment, offering unique perspectives on these. Also instructive are the bishop’s inspired essays on the subject of revolution.

Words of the Heart: homilies by Gerondissa Kakrina Vassopoulou

This book contains the homilies as well as the wonderous life of the Abbess of blessed memory, the venerable Gerondissa Makrina Vassopoulou.

“The venerable Makrina was blessed. All who read her discourses with prayer will sense the fragrance of Gerondissa’s prayer, the scent of the desert of Mt. Athos as it was experienced in a coenobitic monastery, the spiritual life of this true child of true hesychast fathers, and true mother of blessed nuns.” -Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

“Her simple speech speaks to the hearts of all, for it comes from her authentic, holy experiences…. A person of praxis and theoria, Gerondissa was rich in virutes, and she was and still is a guide of others toward Christ and a model of authentic spiritual person, when virtuous examples to follow are becoming increasingly difficult to find.” -Stavros Kourousis, Professor Emeritus, University of Athens

For Children

Friends of Christ volumes 1-3 (January through March). Hardback, well illustrated – Each has 5 lives of the Saints for children per month.

January: St. Basil the Great; St George the Neomartyr of Ioannina; St Mark of Ephesus; St. Xenia (of Rome) and her two servants; St Xenophon, his wife Maria, and their two children, Arkadios and John.

          February: St. Nikiphoros the Martyr; St Haralambos the Hieromartyr; St Theodora the Empress; Venerable Philothei the Athenian; Great Martyr Photini the Samaritan Woman. 

          March: Venerable Lavrentios; St. Gregory the Dialogist; Venerable Alexios the Man of God; Venerable Serapion the Sindonite; St. Ipatios Bishop of Gangra. 

Spiridons Shoes

Young Spyros spends his days fishing, octopus hunting, and dreaming of attending school like his best friend, Niko. When he encounters an elderly man on the beach after an accident, his whole life begins to shift and change. But who is this mysterious, saintly man, and why is his friendship so important? Take a short trip back in time to the Greek island of Corfu and discover the real reason for the mystery surrounding Spyridon’s shoes.

Many thanks to Mother Macaria, Bookstore Manager, for providing the list of new books. Please express your thanks to her for the work she does maintaining what is Indiana’s largest Orthodox bookstore.

Stop in for an inspiring read for the Advent season. Shop now to avoid the Christmas rush.

1516 N Delaware Drive 46202 (the bookstore is in the yellowish house next to Joy of All Who Sorrow, the red brick church ). 317-637-1897